Breaking News Instant updates and real-time market news.

2018-08-21 17:02:53

ADI

Analog Devices

$95.95

2.23 (2.38%)

17:02

08/21/18

08/21

17:02

08/21/18

17:02

Analog Devices reinstates buyback, boosts authorization by $2B

Analog Devices announced that it has reinstated its share repurchase program, and that its Board of Directors has authorized the Company to repurchase an additional $2B of its common stock. Vincent Roche, President and CEO, said "Today's announcement reflects our confidence in ADI's strong performance and the successful execution of our strategy. I am pleased that we have achieved our 2x leverage ratio goal ahead of plan, allowing us to enhance our capital returns to shareholders through both our quarterly dividend and share repurchases." "Our goal is to continue delivering broad revenue growth and generate strong cash flow to enable us to invest in the business, grow our capital returns, and deliver shareholder value for years to come." Analog Devices commenced its common stock repurchase program in fiscal year 2004, and since then the Company has repurchased a total of approximately $5.4 billion of its common stock. Under the program, the Company may repurchase outstanding shares of its common stock from time to time on the open market or through privately negotiated transactions. ADI management will determine the timing and amount of shares repurchased.

Morgan Stanley analyst Joseph Moore said the firm's quarterly survey of distributors leads him to expect "solid" Q2 results and Q3 guidance from broad-based semiconductor companies this earnings season as demand remains strong. However, the present tariff related uncertainty present a risk for a "demand shock" that could lead to an inventory unwind in the semi supply chain, Moore warns investors. He thinks the potential of further semi stock outperformance is limited at this stage of the cycle, while "even the slightest whiff on the demand front" could lead to a significant decline in stocks, he tells investors. Moore added that he favors companies with more defensive characteristics, such as Analog Devices (ADI), over those with more commodity exposure and lower margins, like Cypress Semiconductor (CY). Other publicly traded companies in the semiconductors space include Micron (MU), AMD (AMD), Intel (INTC), Marvell (MRVL), Microchip (MCHP), Nvidia (NVDA), Qualcomm (QCOM) and Texas Instruments (TXN). Shares of Micron are down 2.5% in pre-market trading to $53.65.

08/09/18

MSCO

08/09/18NO CHANGEMSCO

Morgan Stanley downgrades semiconductor industry view to Cautious

Morgan Stanley analyst Joseph Moore said he has become less constructive on semiconductor stocks through the year and he now believes elevated inventory levels and stretched lead times leave "no margin for error." Given his view that any lead time adjustment or demand slowdown could drive a "meaningful correction," Moore has downgraded his semiconductor industry view to Cautious from In-Line. He favors connector companies, like Amphenol (APH) and TE Connectivity (TEL) over analog/MCU at this point in the cycle, due to lower risk around lead time issues, Moore said. He also has a "strong preference" for high margin and more defensive models, such as Analog Devices (ADI) over lower margin and commodity exposed ones, like Cypress Semiconductor (CY) and ON Semiconductor (ON), he said. Despite his more cautious view on the space, Moore keeps Overweight ratings on Nvidia (NVDA), Xilinx (XLNX) and Ambarella (AMBA), citing his view that they should benefit from secular growth in the area of AI, data center, and autonomous. Other semiconductor names include Microchip (MCHP), Qorvo (QRVO), Micron (MU), Intel (INTC), Broadcom (AVGO) and Qualcomm (QCOM).

08/09/18

08/09/18NO CHANGE

Fly Intel: Today's top analyst calls on Wall Street

Check out today's top analyst calls from around Wall Street, compiled by The Fly. GOLDMAN CUTS SEAGATE TO SELL: Goldman Sachs analyst Mark Delaney downgraded Seagate Technology (STX) to Sell from Neutral and lowered his price target for the shares to $44 from $50, representing 20% downside from current levels. While Seagate has improved its product offerings in the last few years, hard disk drives remain a cyclical industry, and one "facing secular challenges in many parts of the market," Delaney said. He believes Seagate's fundamentals will peak in the second half of 2018 and decline in 2019. RBC CUTS FOX TO SECTOR PERFORM ON VALUATION: RBC Capital analyst Steven Cahall downgraded 21st Century Fox (FOXA) to Sector Perform from Outperform, but raised his price target to $49 from $45. The analyst noted that the stock is now trading near its M&A price and that he does not see any competitive bids emerging. Cahall adds that while the company is "undervalued", he awaits the separation to re-evaluate his stance. MORGAN STANLEY DOWNGRADES SEMI INDUSTRY: Morgan Stanley analyst Joseph Moore said he has become less constructive on semiconductor stocks through the year and he now believes elevated inventory levels and stretched lead times leave "no margin for error." Given his view that any lead time adjustment or demand slowdown could drive a "meaningful correction," Moore has downgraded his semiconductor industry view to Cautious from In-Line. He favors connector companies, like Amphenol (APH) and TE Connectivity (TEL) over analog/MCU at this point in the cycle, due to lower risk around lead time issues, Moore said. He also has a "strong preference" for high margin and more defensive models, such as Analog Devices (ADI) over lower margin and commodity exposed ones, like Cypress Semiconductor (CY) and ON Semiconductor (ON), he said. Despite his more cautious view on the space, Moore kept Overweight ratings on Nvidia (NVDA), Xilinx (XLNX) and Ambarella (AMBA), citing his view that they should benefit from secular growth in the area of AI, data center, and autonomous. SOUTHERN COMPANY GETS MULTIPLE DOWNGRADES AFTER Q2 REPORT: Barclays analyst Eric Beaumont downgraded Southern Company (SO) to Equal Weight and lowered his price target for the shares to $48 from $51. Credit Suisse analyst Michael Weinstein downgraded Southern Company to Underperform from Neutral and lowered his price target on the shares to $43 from $46. Guggenheim analyst Shahriar Pourreza downgraded Southern Company to Neutral from Buy and lowered his price target on the stock to $47 from $50. Evercore ISI analyst Greg Gordon downgraded Southern Company to Underperform from In Line and lowered his price target on Southern shares to $46 from $46.75.

08/14/18

MZHO

08/14/18NO CHANGEMZHOBuy

ON Semiconductor pullback a buying opportunity, says Mizuho

Mizuho analyst Vijay Rakesh views the recent pullback in shares of ON Semiconductor (ON) as a buying opportunity. The analyst attributes the selloff to concerns of a peaking semi cycle, but points out that over the last four-years, ON's exposure to auto and industrial revenue has almost doubled. However, the stock trades at a 50% discount to automotive and industrial peers including Texas Instruments (TXN), NXP Semiconductors (NXPI), Analog Devices (ADI), Maxim Integrated (MXIM) and Monolithic Power (MPWR), Rakesh tells investors in a research note.

HIGHER: Newmont Mining (NEM), up 2% after Bloomberg reports Barrick Gold (GOLD) has studied a bid for the company as it looks for ways to boost production... Achieve Life Sciences (ACHV), up 62% after announcing final data from their Phase I/II multi-dose, pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamics clinical study of cytisinicline in smokers... Intel (INTC), up 3% after Morgan Stanley analyst Joseph Moore upgraded shares to Overweight from Equal Weight, citing his belief that shares "can rerate higher" given that the company has put "a more financially oriented CEO" in charge with the appointment of Robert Swan. UP AFTER EARNINGS: Wayfair (W), up 16%... Trade Desk (TTD), up 18%. DOWN AFTER EARNINGS: Kraft Heinz (KHC), down 25%... Stamps.com (STMP), down 52%... AutoNation (AN), down 4%. ALSO LOWER: Fitbit (FIT), down 1% after Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter downgraded the stock to Neutral from Outperform, as shares have reached his $6.50 price target with no new available information on the MedTech opportunity... Lam Research (LRCX), down 2% after Morgan Stanley analyst Joseph Moore downgraded shares to Equal Weight from Overweight, stating that if he is right in his view that memory margins will continue to fade through the second half of this year than wafer fab equipment spending may continue to weaken into 2020.